The UNAWARES: Press

The Unawares — From the sound of it, The Unawares are anything but. The trio’s blend of wiry Polvo-isms, Replacements-grit and jittery and Minutemen-esque flashbombs of nervous energy shows more than ample awareness of indie rock’s sonic successes. John Watkins yelps and spits, his voice dodging divebombing, warped-chord-bent-string guitar lines. Drummer Rhett Berger drives the ship with the careening force of a semi with its brakes cut while bassist James Wallace navigates the minefield with uncanny precision. If ever a band seemed to be hanging precariously on the precipice of spontaneous combustion, this is it. And with such volatile inspirations, it seems The Unawares wouldn’t have it any other way. Atlanta Latin-garage-rock ensemble Batata Doce opens. B. Reed
Hunter Gatherer: 11 p.m., $5; 748-0540, myspace.com/huntergathererbrewery.

11 p.m.:The Unawares at Hunter-Gatherer. The Unawares’ rock is unabashedly aggressive, formidable and memorable. With Modey Lemon, a three-piece psych-rock band from Pittsburgh that constructs with an experimentalist’s ear. Hunter-Gatherer is at 900 Main St. $5; (803) 748-0540

The Unawares — If I had to write about The Unawares in three words, those three words would be “loud,” “fast,” and “dirty.” But I have more room than that, so I’ll go on to say that their music (which can be found on their terrific debut, Hey Zeus, and their even better Tooth Dip EP) takes garage rock and turns it on its head with some Minutemen ferocity that can only be held together by the glue that a three-piece band creates. And given their off-kilter lyrics and vocals, The Unawares might well have been sniffing that glue. These guys just want to have fun and rock some asses, and it shows. T. Baker
Hunter-Gatherer: 11 p.m., $3; 748-0540.

The Unawares — With the successful launch of their six-song EP, Tooth Dip, back in November at Hunter-Gatherer, Columbia’s The Unawares have proven that their recorded output can be just as weirdly charismatic as their live shows. The band’s bare-bones approach, which mixes Minutemen-style bursts of free-form melody and a decidedly retro ethos, makes inventive use of its limited three-piece set-up. Bassist James Wallace might play an incomprehensible amount of notes, but as he masterfully covers that fretboard like he’s playing a life or death game of Whack-a-Mole, he provides unique rhythmic support for John Watkins’ shards of spitfire guitar. It’s experimental garage-rock for the ADHD-afflicted. The diverse bill at New Brookland Tavern also includes Thank God, Satanized, Capillary Action and Motormouth Mabel. E. Greenwood
New Brookland Tavern: 8 p.m., $6; 791-4413,
newbrooklandtavern.com.

Favorite Local Releases of 2007



BY PATRICK WALL


It’s no secret that we here at Free Times love local music. That said, we present you with some of our favorite local releases of the past year, at least according to Playlist standards:


The Unawares, Tooth Dip
The Unawares set out to capture the essence of their raucous live shows on Tooth Dip. Mission accomplished: The EP finds the trio locking into a righteous groove, churning out Talking Heads smart-rock by way of Dirtbombs garage rock with reckless abandon.

BY TUG BAKER


This weekend marks the release of two new EPs by two of Columbia’s finest bands. First up, dirty rockers The Unawares will be releasing Tooth Dip Friday night at Hunter-Gatherer. Recorded live to analog tape in three days at producer Chris Wenner’s home, Tooth Dip succeeds in catching the blistering live presence of the band. According to Wenner, “It’s about trying to capture the performance and making the band comfortable.” Shunning digital tricks, Wenner believes in the simplicity of his technique. “The tape adds its own saturation,” Wenner says. “Like sonic glue.” His methods certainly seemed to agree with the band, personally and sonically. “It’s minimalist, but definitely caught our authentic sound,” says drummer Rhett Berger.

And what a sound it is. The six tracks on Tooth Dip are a raucous, careening drive on a dark dirt road with the lights off. Vocalist-slash-guitarist John Watkins’s off-kilter lyrics match perfectly with his crooning vocal warble. Berger’s drums crash and crunch just as hard as they did when he and Watkins used to play together in high school, and in bassist James Wallace (erstwhile of The South Holes), they’ve found a perfect blend of technical skill and string-bending fervor. The music itself relies heavily on a garage- rock aesthetic with a dollop of Minutemen speed and a Robert Pollard-esque blend of lyrical absurdity and gravity. For a band a little over a year old, The Unawares have certainly found their groove quickly, making this type of recording possible — and preferable. While their first record, Hey Zeus, is equally satisfying, it was recorded before The Unawares even played a live gig together. “We didn’t have the chemistry that we have now,” Berger says. That chemistry is highly apparent on Tooth Dip — like a kid trying to blow up action figures with some fireworks and a chemistry set. The EP will be available at the show Friday and at Papa Jazz and Acme Records after that.

The Unawares
Hey Zeus

The Unawares love garage rock, to be sure. The tunes on Hey Zeus exude the sheer pleasure of traditional rock ‘n’ roll and certainly will make them fast friends to anyone heavily into The Forty-Fives, The Woggles or The Dirtbombs. But The Unawares have more than The Wailers and Link Wray in their record collection. The lyrical absurdity in songs like “Mr. Power Fisher” betray a fondness for art-punks a la Talking Heads and the rollicking riffs (and tongue-in-cheek sense of humor) owe as much to The Minutemen as they do The Trashmen. There are some downright bizarre references (including a song that seems to be dedicated to Fox NFL analyst Howie Long), but all is forgiven via The Unawares’ dedication to keeping it simple — only three of Hey Zeus’ 14 tracks eclipse the three-minute mark. The Unawares get in, rock hard and get right the hell back out — the way it should be done.

The Unawares — In the modern context, rock ‘n’ roll is more about style over substance and pretense over product. It’s refreshing, then, when a band such as The Unawares comes along. No mere garage rock revivalists, The Unawares are a hard-drinkin’, hard-jokin’ and, most importantly, hard-rockin’ trio that melds the straight forward garage tones of The Forty-Fives with slick slips into arty, tuneful dissonance a la Archers of Loaf or Talking Heads. And if it’s all about songs, The Unawares have them in spades — killer hooks, thick choruses and — thankfully — no bulls#!t posturing. P. Wall Hunter-Gatherer: 11 p.m., $3; 748-0540.

"The rock trio of John Watkins, James Wallace and Rhett Berger attend to detail. The Unawares are very aware of time and space in song. They get in and get out, resulting in a CD, “Hey Zeus,” that’s refreshingly heavy on music and light on filler."